Cost Containment Steps Encouraged
As it had in past years, OPM encouraged carriers to create high deductible plans with health savings account and health …More
Fedweek
Sign up Now! Free eNewslettersOPM Stays the Course on FEHB
Health insurance companies have not been told to add substantial new benefit offerings in the FEHB 2007 plan year but …More
S Fund Leads March TSP Returns
The small and mid-sized U.S. stock (S) fund led the Thrift Savings Plan’s monthly returns in March, gaining 3.84 percent, …More
Loan, Comp Time Bills Advance
The House has passed two pieces of legislation potentially benefiting some federal employees and has sent them on to the …More
Expert’s View: Workers’ Compensation vs. Annuity
If you are approved for workers’ compensation and an annuity, you can’t receive both, writes benefits expert Reg Jones. “By …More
Vision and Dental Plans Still in Design
OPM continues to work toward a launch late this year of a vision and dental benefits beyond the currently limited …More
FEHB Call Letter Due Soon
The Office of Personnel Management is due to issue soon its annual “call letter,” in which it outlines the coverage …More
Guidance on Converting Among Systems Issued
The Office of Personnel Management has issued guidance clarifying what happens when employees move from personnel systems featuring broadbanding or …More
What’s at Stake in DoD Appeals Dispute
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report summarizing many of the issues involved in the Defense Department’s national security …More
Changes to Be Phased In
There seems to be considerable confusion regarding who will be covered by which NSPS policies, and when. To summarize: only …More
RIF Policies also Outlined
The document also provides information on an area of the NSPS rules that have drawn less attention than the pay, …More
How Pay Will Be Set, Increased
The document also sets the dollar range of the pay bands by career group and by pay schedule within each …More
DoD Preps First NSPS Group for Conversion
The Defense Department has produced a handbook for the roughly 11,000 employees who are set to go under the new …More
Hispanic Representation Increases Slightly
The Office of Personnel Management has released a report showing that the number of Hispanics in the federal workforce has …More
Employees Laud Program
In an employee survey conducted by GSA, nine-tenths of teleworkers with dependents said the arrangement assists them by providing flexibility, …More
Telework and Child Care a Touchy Issue
The General Services Administration has released preliminary results of a study into telework in the federal government, saying that while …More
Expert’s View: Voluntary Retirement Contributions
Even as the number of employees covered by CSRS continues to decline, interest in the Voluntary Contributions Program – which …More
Implementation Plans Still in Place
Both DHS and DoD continue to make plans to go ahead with implementation of the parts of their systems not …More
DHS Court Appearance Coming Up
The Department of Homeland Security and federal unions are due back in court April 8 for oral arguments before an …More
Other Initiatives Listed
Among the other positions taken in the document, the committee said it: will oppose any efforts to single out federal …More
TSP REIT Idea Not Dead
The Government Reform Committee also said it will continue to examine the possibility of adding a real estate investment trust …More
Pay Reform for Some Groups on Agenda
The committee said it plans to consider legislation to establish a new pay system for law enforcement officers, based on …More
Broad Pay Reform Backed–Eventually
The committee said its “ultimate goal is a compensation that is more market and performance sensitive, that more effectively and …More
Panel Backs Pay Parity
The House Government Reform Committee, the main panel in the House dealing with civil service issues, has said it continues …More
CPI Count Rises in February
The inflation index used to adjust federal retirement cost-of-living benefits rose 0.1 percentage points in February, meaning that through five …More
Electronic FEHB Records Pushed
Legislation introduced in the House (HR-4859) would require all Federal Employees Health Benefits carriers to create an electronic health record …More
Watch Out for TSP Scam
The Thrift Savings Plan has put out a warning to investors about a scam email that purports to be from …More
Employee Group Opposes New TSP Plan
An advisory group of representatives from employee organizations has come out in opposition to a proposal to add a real …More
Expert’s View: Keeping FEHB after a Buyout or Early Out
Considering how few benefits specialists are left in most agencies, it’s not surprising how often incorrect information is given to …More
Most Would Be in ‘Standard’ Career Group
DoD’s intent is to create four “career groups” in NSPS to replace the general schedule—and eventually the wage grade—classification systems. …More
